Pursuing Potter
by Owafree
Summary: Scorpius has had a crush on Albus Potter for years, and has pursued him tirelessly with no results. But now it's seventh year and he's trying a new tactic in his crusade to win Albus' heart! (This is a remake of a story I read ages ago and cannot for the life of me find again. So I'm writing as much as I remember and adding some things of my own) Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Scorpius let out a dejected sigh as he looked down at the less-than-loving owl he had received from Albus Potter.

"Oh Merlin," Iris Zabini groaned from where she was lounging under the Grecian sun. "What did Potter say this time?"

Scowling at his friend, Scorpius refused to answer her question. Instead, he folded up Potter's letter and set it on his lounge chair before diving straight into the water of his family's pool.

The Malfoys didn't always go to their summer home in Greece when Scorpius was out of school, but it was certainly one of his favorite vacation spots. Much better than France or Italy, where Scorpius was dragged from shop to shop by his mother. Scorpius loved shopping and fashion, but Astoria Malfoy was a force to be reckoned with whenever they visited Paris or Milan.

As he lazily swam laps across the pool, Scorpius pondered his hopeless crush on Albus Potter. The interest had begun almost instantly when Scorpius had seen the other boy on Platform 9 ¾ their first year. Over time, that interest had grown into infatuation, and Scorpius didn't even try to keep it a secret from Potter or the rest of the school. He first asked Potter out to a Hogsmeade weekend in third year, and the boy had accepted much to Scorpius' delight. The date had been going splendidly until Scorpius tried to kiss him. That had earned him a punch to the mouth and a loud exclamation of "what the bloody hell!?" before Potter had taken off and run full tilt back up to Hogwarts like a herd of centaurs were on his heels.

Scorpius let out another dramatic sigh as he finished his swim and pulled himself out of the pool.

"Wow, he doesn't mince words does he?" Iris commented from where she was seated on Scorpius' lounge chair, her eyes hungrily reading over the admittedly short letter Scorpius had received in reply to the last owl he had sent to Potter.

"At least he's consistent," Scorpius grumbled as he slumped down next to her, not even bothering to towel off. The heat of the day would do that for him.

"'Malfoy,'" Iris read in an uncanny impression of Potter's voice, "'How many times do I have to tell you to stop owling me and leave me the hell alone, you ponce! Signed Albus Potter.'"

"You don't have to rub it in," Scorpius said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I assume the owl that prompted this response was yet another one of your elaborate declarations of undying love?"

Scorpius' gaze dropped to his feet. "More or less," he mumbled. He just didn't understand it. His father had always drilled it into him that he should never pursue anything less than what he wanted. Draco Malfoy had spent many a night regaling his son with stories from the War; of lost chances and poor choices made despite countless misgivings. Scorpius often got the sense that there was a lot more than just being a Death Eater that his father regretted from the time of the War.

"I think you've gone about this all wrong, my love," Iris said, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.

"How do you mean?" he asked as he lifted a hand to gently tug on a strand of her hair.

"Well you've been all over the kid since third year. And that obviously hasn't worked in your favor. Desperation does not suit you, darling." Scorpius opened his mouth to retort but Iris cut him off with a sharp _hush!_ "We're about to start our seventh year. This is your last chance to get anything resembling a shot with Albus Potter before he's unleashed on the rest of the Wizarding World." Scorpius grimaced at that. Potter hadn't done much dating during his years at Hogwarts and Scorpius was grateful. He didn't want to get detention for setting some poor girl's hair on fire. Because despite Potter's insistence that he is "not bent in the least bit, damn you!" Scorpius' gaydar is infallible, thank you very much, and Albus Potter was a textbook closet case if he'd ever seen one.

"Father always says that honesty and persistence are the best tools you can have when it comes to matters of the heart." Those had been some weird conversations, because considering the fact that Scorpius' father had given him endless love advice, Draco and Astoria Malfoy's marriage was obviously just for show. Well, that and an heir of course. They got along fine, but rarely if ever engaged in any kind of physical affection.

"Scorpius, no offense, but sometimes your father seems like he might be a few twigs short of a broom. I wouldn't be taking love advice from him." Iris patted his back consolingly. Scorpius let out an incredulous scoff.

"You're kidding right? This coming from the girl who has spent two years silently and creepily crushing on—"

"Irrelevant!" Iris yelled over him. Scorpius can't hold back a small smirk. "Getting back to my point, you can't keep chasing after Potter like this. It's not going to get you anywhere."

"What, I should start watching him from hidden corners and bribing house elves to steal his jumpers?" Scorpius gave her a pointed look and Iris' face turned a bright shade of red.

"That's—you can't—th-this isn't about me, you git!"

Scorpius shrugged, dropping the subject. Iris was very sensitive about her own infatuation, and much less willing to talk about it than Scorpius was willing to talk about Potter.

"What's your suggestion?" he asked, steering her back to safer territory. Her face brightened immediately.

"Ignore him!" she said excitedly. Scorpius stared at her.  
"Brilliant plan, Zabini," he deadpanned.

"No I'm serious! At this point he's so used to you shamelessly throwing yourself at him like a three-knut whore—"

"Thanks ever so much."

"—that he won't be able to help but notice if you just start ignoring him."

Scorpius was skeptical. "So, what? I just ignore him for all of seventh year and hope he misses my attention enough to come after me?"

"Not quite. There is a second part to this plan." There was a particular gleam in her eyes that made Scorpius simultaneously nervous and curious.

"Alright, I'll bite. What is the second part?"

"You go after someone else."

Scorpius quirked an eyebrow at her. "That's your genius plan? Ignore Potter and date someone else?"

"You're going to make him _jealous_ , you beautiful idiot."

Scorpius thought it over. It wasn't the worst plan Iris had ever had, but then again she'd had some pretty ridiculous schemes over the almost ten years that Scorpius has known her.

"This is all working off of the assumption that Albus Potter actually is gay," he said slowly, pensively.

"You're the one who's always going on about how he's so far in the closet that he's set up camp in there."

She was right. But now Scorpius had to reevaluate how much of that was actual gaydar and how much of it was simply wishful thinking. He wasn't feeling so confident now.

"Hey, even if it doesn't work, at least you'll be getting some action this year, eh?" Iris grinned widely, wiggling her eyebrows. Scorpius laughed. She could always make him laugh.

"Alright," he finally agreed, still chuckling. "What have I got to lose?"


	2. Chapter 2

Albus was hiding behind his cousin Rose when the Potters and Weasleys came through to Platform 9 ¾ on September first.

"Albus, cut it out!" Rose whined when he clipped her heels with his feet.

"I need protection, Rose. Who knows where that ponce could be hiding?" Albus looked around the platform wildly, keeping an eye out for the shock of white blond hair that usually preceded exuberant unwanted hugs.

"Don't be mean, Albus," his father chastised with a disapproving frown from where he was pushing Albus' trolley. Albus whirled on him, completely forgetting about needing to hide behind Rose.

"Need I remind you, _father_ , of what happened last year on the platform?" he asked angrily. His dad laughed. _Laughed_.

Last year, Malfoy had rocketed toward him as soon as Albus and his family stepped onto the platform. Within seconds of seeing the Hogwarts Express, Albus was caught up in the warm but very unwelcome embrace of one Scorpius Malfoy.

 _"I_ missed _you this summer, Albus," Malfoy breathed into his hair, placing a small kiss on Albus' cheek. Albus tried, without success, to pull away without injuring the other boy._

 _"Get off me, Malfoy!" Malfoy obliged Albus' request, stepping back with a wide smile._

 _"I brought you a present from Italy!" Malfoy enthused, digging around in his pockets._

 _"I don't want any presents from you," Albus said sharply._

 _"Here it is!" Malfoy rejoiced as he handed over the gift, completely ignoring Albus' comment. In his outstretched hand sat a small glass orb about the size of a Snitch, and suspended inside of it looked to be some kind of white flower bud. As Albus watched, the flower bud bloomed right before his eyes inside of the orb._

 _"It responds to human touch, see?" Malfoy said, obviously excited by the magic of the gift. "The bud closes back up when you put it down."_

 _"Oh…" was all Albus could say in response. It really was very beautiful. If you liked that sort of thing._

 _It took him a few moments to realize that he was just standing there staring at the gift without taking it, but he quickly snapped out of it and reached out to accept with a grumbled thanks. Malfoy grinned widely and darted forward to plant another kiss on Albus' cheek before running off._

"I thought it was sweet," his Aunt Hermione said with a smile. Albus sputtered.

"That was not _sweet!_ It was _assault_. Honestly, woman." Sometimes Albus wondered if his family was conspiring with Scorpius Malfoy to make his life miserable. He didn't deserve this.

"I know for a fact that you still have that gift, Albus Severus," his sister Lily pointed out.

"I haven't gotten around to throwing it out yet," Albus muttered sullenly.

"You've had _literally_ an entire year to do that," she retorted.

"It's been a busy year!" he defended, looking around the platform again, but still saw no sign of Malfoy. "He's probably waiting to ambush me on the train," he moaned.

His father and aunt rolled their eyes at his histrionics.

"Alright you lot, onto the train," his father said, motioning them towards the nearest car. "We'll see you at Christmas. And Albus, try to play nice this year, yeah?"

Albus scanned the platform once more before following the rest of his family to the train. When he still saw no head of blond hair, he let out a grateful sigh that didn't sound wistful in the slightest thank you very much.

He was _relieved_. Really, he was.

* * *

"It was a jonquil," Rose said as she settled next to him in their compartment on the train.

"Hm?" Albus grunted, distractedly gazing out the window that looked into the small corridor running up and down the train car, ever vigilant.

"The flower that Scorpius gave you last year. It was a jonquil."

Albus turned towards her, eyebrow cocked. "And you know this why?"

"Oh please, I know everything. Did you know that oftentimes a jonquil can symbolize unrequited love?"

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Do _you_ know where he is right now?" he asked, turning to face her completely. She gave him a funny look.

"Just because we're in the same House and occasionally study together doesn't mean I know where he is at all hours of the day. Why do you care so much?"

"Because I need to prepare myself for the onslaught!" That was the only reason. Honest.

Rose clearly wasn't buying it if the way she was looking at him was any indication.

"Albus—"

"I'm going to go see what Lily and Hugo are up to!" he said, rather loudly, rushing to open the compartment door and go out in search of his younger cousins. At least that's what he told himself he was doing.

Albus spent the next half hour or so stalking up and down the train, peeking in on each compartment. At one point he had caught sight of Iris Zabini walking down the corridor and he followed behind, confident that Malfoy would be wherever she was going. Once he knew which compartment Malfoy was in, Albus could prepare his evasive maneuvers for the rest of the train ride.

However, when he peeked through the window of Zabini's compartment, he was disappointed to see that it was just her and a few other Slytherins he didn't know playing Exploding Snap. Fed up with his fruitless search, Albus let out an annoyed huff and started to trudge back to the compartment he shared with Rose.

As he was passing by a storage compartment, though, Albus was startled to hear a thump coming from inside of it. Curious, he reached out and slid open the door only to find—

What.

 _What._

 _WHAT!?_

There, sprawled on top of a pile of stacked trunks was Scorpius Malfoy, head thrown back as the boy on top of him—Albus immediately identified the culprit to be Andrew Thomas—was tracing the line of Malfoy's neck with his tongue. The slam of the compartment door sliding open didn't seem to bother them much, as Thomas kept right on _fucking licking Malfoy's skin, what?_

Malfoy looked over at Albus with glazed eyes and hooded lids. It didn't even see to register that it was Albus standing there. "Do you mind?" he asked breathlessly, gesturing to the compartment door with a small hand movement.

"Erm…nope. No. Sorry!" Panicked, Albus slammed the door shut again, right in time to hear what sounded like Malfoy letting out a high-pitched moan. Merlin.

Albus hurried away, not wanting to hear anymore, and went in search of his cousin.

"Rose!" he shouted as he wrenched open their compartment door, startling her from her reading. "Malfoy's kissing Thomas!"

Rose quirked an eyebrow at him. "Okay?"

"Okay? OKAY!? No, this is not okay! When did Malfoy start kissing Thomas?"

"Since when did you care who Scorpius kisses, Albus? I would think you'd be rejoicing that he finally found someone else to go after. I'm glad that this time he at least picked someone who wants to kiss him back." With a shrug, Rose went back to her book as Albus stared at her, slack-jawed.

When she realized that he was just standing there, Rose looked up again. Her eyes narrowed.

"Albus are you…jealous?"

That snapped Albus out of his daze in a jiffy.

"What! No! Why! Why would you say something like that! Of course I'm not jealous!" he was doing that thing again where he talked far too loudly to be considered appropriate.

"Then I don't see what the issue is," Rose replied. "Now please settle down. All your shouting is starting to give me a headache."


	3. Chapter 3

Let's just make one thing clear, Albus was _not_ sulking. Lily and Hugo were just being nosey and had no idea what they were talking about.

That being said, Albus couldn't exactly pinpoint why he was so upset about Malfoy being with Thomas. He glanced over to the Ravenclaw table while the new first years were being Sorted. There sat Malfoy, on his right sat Rose, and on his left…bloody Andrew Thomas.

Albus hadn't even known that Malfoy was interested in anyone else besides…well…him. And he couldn't figure out why it bothered him so much to see Malfoy flirting with…and hugging…and bloody hell, _kissing_ Thomas.

Albus absent-mindedly clapped as another first year was Sorted into Gryffindor.

"Oi, Sloane," he called quietly across the Gryffindor table. Sloane Finnegan turned towards him, a questioning look on her face. "Do you know anything about Malfoy and Thomas over there?"

Sloane Finnegan was one of the biggest gossips in the school. She had sources in every House, and often knew almost instantly when a new couple got together.

Now, she looked over to the Ravenclaw table where Malfoy and Thomas were giggling over who-the-hell-knows-what.

The look on Sloane's face was pensive as she watched them. She turned back to Albus. "Not really sure. Haven't heard anything about it. I'll ask around once the Feast starts."

By the time the Feast _did_ start, Albus was feeling particularly grumpy. He watched, disgusted, as Thomas fed Malfoy something on a spoon. Ugh.

Sloane was flitting from table to table, talking to their various occupants. By the time she came back, she had a frustrated expression on her face.

"Nothing?" he asked as she settled back into her seat. She shook her head in response, gave a shrug, and started loading up her plate with food.

"You could always ask him yourself, brother mine," Lily chirped from where she was sitting next to him. Albus glared.

"Why would I do that?" he growled.

"Because you're obviously jealous."

Albus groaned as he saw Sloane perk up at that information, though she pretended not to be listening.

"Don't just say things like that, Lily. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say, Albus." She was obviously trying to hold in laughter as she turned back to her meal.

In hindsight, maybe setting Thomas' hair on fire was a bit of an overreaction. And while thankfully none of the teachers realized that Albus was the perpetrator, everyone sitting within five seats of him at the Gryffindor table knew _exactly_ who was responsible for Thomas' newly singed state.

Well, them and…

The expression on Malfoy's face when he turned to stare at Albus was inscrutable. Albus had no clue how Malfoy knew that Albus had set his new boyfriend's hair on fire, but it was clear from the way Malfoy eyed Albus' wand that was sitting on the table that he was in the know.

It wasn't until Malfoy turned back to Thomas that Albus realized exactly what he had just done. Lily was right. He was acting like a jealous lover. With a groan, Albus dropped his forehead onto the table with an audible _thud_.

"There there, Albus," Lily soothed with a gentle pat on his head. "I always knew that, when it eventually happened, your trek out of the closet would be slow and agonizing. But you've taken the first step now and—"

"SHUT UP!"

The silence that followed Albus' outburst was oppressive, and he wished that the ground would open up and swallow him right then and there. The Headmistress' voice was deafening in his ears when she spoke from the Head table.

"10 points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter, for rude language and disrupting a meal."

Great. Just bloody great.

* * *

In another instance of childish impulsiveness, when Albus entered the Potions classroom for Gryffindor's double period with Ravenclaw, he didn't even stop to think before quickly striding over to plop himself down in the empty seat next to Malfoy. The other boy turned to look at him, clearly surprised.

"A-Albus?" his grey eyes were wide in shock, and Albus couldn't blame him. He had, after all, gone well out of his way to avoid Malfoy at all costs over the last four years.

"Here's what's going to happen," Albus bit out, turning to look at the front of the classroom as he spoke. He just couldn't look at Malfoy right now, he didn't trust himself not to do something stupid if he locked eyes with him again. "We are going to be lab partners this year. Just lab partners. So don't go getting any funny ideas."

"Why?" Malfoy asked, voice clearly conveying his astonishment. Albus can't help but turn to look at him again.

"Because…because you're smart. And I need good marks in Potions if I'm going to become a Healer."

"A Healer?" Malfoy, if anything, looked even more confused by Albus' explanation. Rightfully so, considering the fact that said explanation was complete bullshit. "I thought you wanted to play professional Quidditch. Has that changed?"

That threw Albus for a loop. "How did you know _that_?" he asked, incredulous. Malfoy's cheeks turned an interesting shade of pink as his eyes darted away. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and he was clearly embarrassed.

"We _were_ friends for a while Albus. I remember this kinda stuff, you know."

Shame flooded through Albus as he processed Malfoy's response. Because the other boy as right, they _had_ been friends—good friends—up until their disastrous not-date in third year. Albus remembered their friendship clearly, despite having pushed any memory of it to the back of his brain.

 _"Hello." Albus turned towards the voice to see what was clearly another first year standing in the train corridor._

 _"Hi," Albus said in response. Excited by the prospect of a new friend, he stuck out his hand. "My name is Albus Potter."_

 _The other boy's eyes widened a bit at that, but he didn't go berserk the way that people on the street did. He simply smiled widely and took Albus' hand in his, giving a firm shake in greeting. "Scorpius Malfoy."_

 _Albus knew that surname well. He, his siblings, and his cousins had eavesdropped on a number of fantastic late night rows between Uncle Ron and his father about Draco Malfoy. According to Uncle Ron, the man was "a slimy Slytherin ferret and not to be trusted" while Albus' father argued that he was "a reformed man who's trying to make some changes."_

 _Albus decided that Draco Malfoy's_ son _at least seemed perfectly friendly and pleasant. And he didn't much fancy the idea of sharing a compartment with James and his friends, and Rose was already off socializing with some other precocious first years like herself. So it was with much enthusiasm that Albus asked, "Would you like to share a compartment with me?"_

 _A grin broke out across Scorpius' face. "I'd love to!"_

 _Together, the pair hunted down an empty compartment. Once they were settled into their seats, conversation flowed easily._

 _"I really want to be on the Quidditch team," Albus was saying. "Keeper. My Uncle Ron was Keeper when he went to Hogwarts and he's taught me everything I know. Do you like Quidditch?"_

 _"I like to watch more than I like to play. I'm uh…" Scorpius blushed, clearly embarrassed. "I'm kind of scared of heights. I really like to read. Dad said I couldn't bring my entire library with me but I brought some of my favorites."_

 _"You have your own library? You'll get along great with my cousin Rose. She's in our year. She practically_ lives _inside of books." Albus decided then that he liked Scorpius' smile. It was nice to look at._

 _"You seem to have a rather large family," Scorpius was saying. Albus snapped back to attention._

 _"Well yeah. The Potter side not so much but my mum's side—the Weasley family—is massive."_

 _"I always wanted a bigger family. Siblings, cousins…" Scorpius broke eye contact to look out the window. "A lot of my family sided with Voldemort and therefore either ended up dead or in Azkaban."_

 _It took Scorpius a few moments to realize that Albus was watching him with wide eyes. Scorpius frowned. "What?"_

 _"You're the only other person aside from my Dad that I've ever heard use his real name." A deep sense of respect and admiration bloomed in Albus' chest as he looked at Scorpius in a new light._

 _Scorpius just shrugged. "Dad never used anything other than his name while telling me about the War. He's always said that fear of a name only increases—"_

 _"Fear of the thing itself," Albus finished for him._

 _"…Yeah." Now it was Scorpius' turn to look stunned._

 _"My Dad told me that too. Albus Dumbledore said it to him when he was a student here."_

" _Your namesake," Scorpius observed. "Dad said he was a very wise man. You must be proud to carry his name."_

 _Albus had never really thought of that before, but he supposed it was a great honor to be named after such a great man._

 _"Yeah," he said. "I guess I am."_

Yes, he and Malfoy had been friends at one point. And Albus had pushed him away with such finality that he didn't even use Malfoy's given name anymore. Guilt that was three years buried clawed its way up his throat, and he choked back the apology that sat waiting on his tongue. Thankfully he was saved from further discussion when the professor started class at the front of the room. Albus tried to convince himself that his relief at the conversation ending was not at all cowardly. He failed.


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe you couldn't even make it through the first week without caving," Iris drawled as she sat up from where she was sprawled on Scorpius' bed, having listened to his retelling of the bizarre events in Potions earlier that day.

"I couldn't help it!" Scorpius defended. He and Potter hadn't talked much after their short discussion at the beginning of Potions. They had to sit through a long lecture about the N.E.W.T.s and the necessary preparation required. Then, they had been instructed to brew a Shrinking Solution, which required a lot of attention and care if you didn't want to end up with a cauldron the size of a Snitch. They worked pretty well together, but that didn't surprise Scorpius at all. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had shared a Potions period in second year and they had been lab partners then too. Today had been like falling back into a long-forgotten but sorely missed rhythm and routine.

Small whispered instructions or questions swapped back and forth over the bubbling cauldron. Little touches, nudges, and brushing of fingers as they worked around each other were like electric sparks on his skin.

He was having a hard time keeping the dopey grin off his face as he thought back to earlier that day and the quiet peace that he and Potter had eased into as the class period progressed. Scorpius was still reeling from his interaction with him.

"You certainly have it bad, don't you sweetheart?" Iris said fondly, rising from the bed and walking over to him. She gave him a hug and Scorpius hugged back, letting the smell of her perfume comfort him.

"What do I do now?" he asked, unsure of where to go from here. Would the whole plan be for nothing if he continued interacting with Potter in Potions?

"This might actually work in your favor. Maybe picking up your friendship with Potter rather than jumping into a relationship head-on will make him more easily prone to jealousy. Give him a little attention but then more attention to your beau."

"That sounds mean." Scorpius frowned. He didn't have what Iris frequently called the "scheming gene" that was present in almost all Slytherins. Scorpius had never seen why that was a bad thing, but then he had witnessed the way that Iris had plotted and threatened her way around the school in third year during the aftermath of Potter's rejection in Hogsmeade. She had somehow kept the teasing from other students at bay, which was a relief considering how heart-broken he had been at the time.

"If you don't like my idea, then come up with your own plan," Iris said, not unkindly. She had a point. There was no way that Scorpius would ever be comfortable with a completely Slytherin-crafted plot. And he really did want to at the very least rekindle his lost friendship with Potter. He had missed Albus more than he can say. Scorpius could admit that played a big part in his dogged pursuit over the years following that disastrous afternoon in Hogsmeade.

Mind made up, he changed the topic of conversation.

"You want to go down to the Common Room?" Scorpius asked. Iris' eyes lit up in excitement as she nodded her head.

Scorpius knew that Iris didn't like talking about her crush explicitly, and throughout its development Scorpius had learned how to be as surreptitiously supportive and helpful in Iris' own romantic pursuit as she was with his.

As they entered the Common Room, Scorpius caught the poorly hidden love struck expression on Iris' face when she spotted her small obsession perusing the bookshelves on the far side of the room.

"Hey Rose!" Scorpius called with a grin, and he could see in his peripheral vision how Iris stiffened at the sound of his voice.

Rose Weasley turned from where she was browsing through the Common Room's small yet useful collection of Arithmancy texts. Used to seeing Iris in the Ravenclaw Common Room, Rose smiled and gestured towards the couch near the shelves.

Iris' crush on Rose Weasley was something Scorpius actually knew very little about. Iris never wanted to talk about it, and Scorpius had to draw most of his conclusions just from observing the way that Iris acted around Rose.

His usually chatty friend would turn uncharacteristically quiet; she wouldn't say anything unless asked a direct question. She would become withdrawn and sometimes moody.

It drove Scorpius crazy, because then he'd have Rose coming to him asking if Iris didn't like her or didn't want to spend time with her. And of course, when he would try to explain to Iris why her current tactics were actually working against her, she would simply say that Scorpius had no idea what he was talking about and to mind his own business.

Merlin knew why he took love advice from this woman.

Well, he was sick of it. So this year he was going to go about things. Which is why once Iris and Rose were settled, Scorpius pulled out the chess set kept in the Common Room and placed it before the two girls.

"Have fun," was all he said before turning away and heading to bed, ignoring the confused expression on Rose's face and the horrified one on Iris'.

* * *

Albus was having a hard time falling asleep that night.

Well, to be truthful he hadn't been sleeping well since the start of term. And he knew exactly why.

On the train, when Albus stumbled upon Malfoy getting attacked by Andrew Thomas' mouth, he hadn't been thinking much past the shock of the situation. But later that evening, when Albus was trying to get an early night's rest, his mind kept replaying the sound of Malfoy's moaning and the blissed-out look on his face Albus had momentarily seen before he had slammed the door shut and run away.

The whole thing was very distracting.

And then their conversation earlier today had triggered all these seemingly suppressed memories of Malfoy back when he had still been Scorpius.

Albus hadn't necessarily been lying when he said he needed good marks in Potions in order to become a Healer. It's just that Malfoy was right; Albus didn't want to be a Healer. He wanted to play Keeper for the Tutshill Tornados. And one certainly didn't need N.E.W.T level Potions marks if they wanted to play Quidditch. It had been Rose who had pointed out at the end of fifth year that Albus couldn't rely on getting a spot with the team and that he should "prepare a backup option" if things didn't work out.

"If for some inexplicable reason you could never play Quidditch again, what would you do with your life?"

At first, Albus had been unable to answer her. There had never been anything other than Quidditch for him. He hadn't even considered other options.

But then he thought back to when he was younger and Lily had gotten Dragon Pox. She had only been four at the time and there was a moment when the Healers weren't sure if she was going to survive. But they had worked hard and she had pulled through. Albus was forever grateful to them because while Lily may be his annoying younger sister, he had no idea what he would do if she were gone.

So he had picked being a Healer as his back-up plan, but as he told Rose several times: "I'm not going to _need_ it."

The fact that Albus knew that Malfoy also wanted to be a Healer had nothing to do with it. Pure coincidence. Really.

Albus couldn't decide if his decision had been a good one or a disastrous one. On the one hand, he had enjoyed working with Malfoy again and being able to be in his presence without getting bombarded by declarations of love and affection. It was like being transported back to second year. Back when they had still been friends.

And now Albus' head was full of Malfoy and if it was it just that then he could have easily brushed it off and go to sleep. But that one moment on the train kept replaying in his head and it made him… _hard_.

And that's what was so distressing about the whole situation. Because Albus wasn't gay. He _wasn't_. He was a seventeen-year-old boy. Erections were just a part of his daily life. Never mind the fact that Malfoy had starred in a particularly steamy dream the night they arrived at Hogwarts. But Albus had become inexplicably skilled at ignoring certain thoughts or emotions that popped up at the most inopportune times to remind him that there was a part of himself that he was still very much stubbornly neglecting.

Unwilling to deal with it in any capacity, Albus rolled over and tried to go to sleep, even though he knew he couldn't.


	5. Chapter 5

At breakfast the next morning, Scorpius was happy to see that he had received an owl from his father.

 _My dearest Scorpius—_

 _I hope your first week back is going splendidly._

 _I will be coming to Hogwarts soon to discuss and organize with the Headmistress and Mr. Harry Potter a possible Yuletide celebratory event to be held at the school come Christmastime. Don't tell anyone though! It would be meant to be a surprise._

 _I must confess I was somewhat surprised to hear about your new relationship with Andrew Thomas. I was not aware that you were harboring any affectionate feelings for him, and I trust that you are not letting yourself be pressured into anything you're not fully comfortable with. Following your heart, above all else, is the most important thing in the world._

 _I am very proud of all of your achievements, Scorpius—both academic and otherwise. You have grown into a fine young man and you bring nothing but honor to the Malfoy name. I hope you enjoy your final year at Hogwarts, and I urge you to take a few moments every once in a while to stop and appreciate where you are, how far you've come, and the experiences you've had—both good and bad—while attending what is arguably the most respectable Wizarding school in the world._

 _Your mother sends her love. You should expect an owl to be arriving from her soon._

 _All my love,_

 _Father_

Scorpius couldn't stop the few tears that attempted to spill over onto his cheeks. He was no fool. He knew what kinds of things used to be said about the Malfoys, especially his father in particular. Through it all, his father always took care to ensure Scorpius that the only thing that mattered to him was Scorpius' happiness and personal accomplishments. From what he's heard, his father had a very different set of expectations placed on his shoulders by Grandfather Malfoy.

Scorpius was interrupted from his musings by movement around him, and he realized that breakfast was almost over and he should be heading to his first class of the day. He was glad that it was Friday. He was ready to spend the weekend in the library with Rose, poring over the new material for the school year.

"Scorpius!" Andrew's voice called out from the crowd of people trying to leave the Great Hall. Scorpius turned to him, a small smile on his face.

"Hello Andrew." Scorpius accepted a kiss on the cheek from what he supposed was his boyfriend. It was still weird thinking of anyone but Potter in a romantic or sexual context.

And speak of the devil.

Over Andrew's shoulder, Scorpius could see Potter watching them, glaring in a not-so-subtle manner. Scorpius' cheeks pinked a bit. He was no idiot. He was a Ravenclaw after all. And he could see what his lack of attention or affection was doing to Potter. More than anything Scorpius felt bad. It would be difficult balancing his relationship with Andrew with the rekindling of his friendship with Potter.

"—even listening to me right now?"

Scorpius blinked, turning his attention back to Andrew.

"I'm sorry what?"

Andrew just smiled at Scorpius' inattention. He knew much more about the situation and Iris' half-baked scheme than Scorpius had originally intended. But what else was to be expected? Scorpius had gone from relentlessly pursuing Albus Potter to accepting Andrew's flirtatious offer on the Hogwarts Express to show Scorpius a new book that was packed away in his trunk. It was not the first time that Andrew had approached him with such an offer, despite Scorpius' blatant obsession with Potter. It was however the first time that Scorpius had accepted.

Andrew was not blind. He might be a year younger than Scorpius, but he was in Ravenclaw too. He had figured a lot out on his own. He didn't seem to mind terribly that their relationship was one of physicality and convenience more than it was one of emotional attachment. He even played up the façade of doting boyfriend whenever Potter was around, which led to some pretty amusing results, as Potter was not at all discreet about his emotional reactions. And Scorpius' hormones were certainly thankful for the sudden increase in snogging and frottage.

So instead of getting miffed that Scorpius hadn't been paying attention, Andrew just smirked and leaned forward so his lips were right next to his ear.

"I have something new and exciting to show you tonight. Meet me in the old Charms classroom after dinner." With that, Andrew pressed a soft kiss to the skin right behind Scorpius' ear before stepping back with a wink. Moments later he was swept away with the crowd.

* * *

When Scorpius entered the old abandoned Charms classroom that he and Andrew had been using for their clandestine meetings, he was startled to find Albus Potter leaning up against the far wall watching him with a smirk on his face.

"Albus? What are you doing here?"

"Close, but not quite, Scorpius." Potter reached into his pocket and pulled out an empty potions vial. Scorpius was able to put the rest together fairly quickly. Polyjuice. Andrew had actually gone and acquired (made?) Polyjuice Potion, snagged one of Potter's hairs, and transformed himself into Scorpius' ultimate fantasy—a ready and willing Albus Potter.

It wasn't until Andrew had him pinned against the wall and was mouthing at his neck that Scorpius felt a distinct sense of wrongness.

"Wait…" he gently pushed at Andrew's—Albus's—shoulders.

Seeing the heated look in those dreamy green eyes made Scorpius waver, though. Andrew had gone through so much trouble to turn himself into the person he knew Scorpius would rather be with.

On the one hand, seeing Albus Potter practically panting for him was an intoxicating sight, but on the other, it felt like a violation of sorts. If Scorpius and Andrew did anything more than snog—which they usually did—then Scorpius would be seeing and touching parts of Albus that he hadn't been given explicit permission to see or touch. The lines of consent were fairly blurry when it came to Polyjuice Potion and using it for this particular purpose. There were issues here that Andrew probably hadn't considered in his hormone-fueled scheming.

"I'm sorry, Andrew. I can't do this to him."

Andrew let out a heavy sigh, seemingly resigned.

"You are a more noble man than I, Scorpius," he said, stepping away. Part of Scorpius wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull Albus's body close again, to press up against that chest, to tangle his fingers in that hair, to lick his way into that mouth and nibble on those lips. But…he couldn't. If he was ever going to have this chance, he wanted the real thing. He wanted Albus.

And it all came back down to that, didn't it? Messing around with Andrew was great fun, but even though it had only been a week since they had started this, Scorpius was already feeling his heart start to strain and ache. Not for the first time in the last three years, Scorpius found himself silently cursing Albus Potter. The boy had enchanted him, bewitched him. And now no one else would suffice. The familiar desperation that fueled his pursuit of the boy he had once called his best friend made Scorpius want to cry, and Andrew must have seen some of that on his face; because he stepped forward and wrapped Scorpius in Albus's arms. It was the most Scorpius was willing to take from Andrew's transformation, and he clutched at Andrew tightly as he started to sob.


End file.
